EU enlargement 1st May - School of Slavonic and East European Studies experts available for media comment

Publication date:
Mar 13, 2006 3:23:30 PM

On 1 May 2004, ten new states will become members of the European
Union. These are: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. UCL's School of
Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), has at its disposal some of
the world's foremost experts on the culture and history of the majority
of the countries now joining the EU, and these academics are available
for media comment on the implications of the enlargement for both the
UK and the acceding nation themselves in the lead-up to accession and
beyond.

Journalists covering the accession and wishing to contact relevant
academics from the acceding countries from the Slavonic and East
European region, should contact the UCL Media Relations office to make
the necessary arrangements.

Notes for Editors

1. SSEES was established in 1915 to study and teach the languages,
literature, history, culture and social conditions of the nation states
emerging out of the First World War. One of its joint founders, Tomas
Garrigue Masaryk, went on to become the first President of
Czechoslovakia.

2. On Wednesday 5th May, the President of the Republic of Poland,
His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski, will deliver a keynote address
at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at a ceremony to
celebrate the unveiling of the foundation stone of the School's new
building. For more information, or to request an invitation, media
should also contact the UCL Media Relations office.